Kevin Pietersen has revealed the background into his astonishing removal as England captain while insisting he hopes to regain the post in the future.

The South African-born batsman quit after just three Tests in charge claiming he couldn't work alongside coach Peter Moores who was sacked as the embarrassing furore dragged on.

But Pietersen, who says he was effectively dumped in a phone call, believes he will one day lead the national team again.

He also insisted that his relationship with Andrew Flintoff had not broken down, stating the star all-rounder had wanted him to remain at the helm of a team determined to reclaim the Ashes in six months' time.

At the same time, Pietersen made no secret of the fact that his relationship with Moores had wholly broken down.

"I feel I've got unfinished business as captain of England - I definitely feel that," the 28-year-old told the News of the World in an extensive interview.

"But right now, I feel it is right for me to go back and just play - to do something that I love, which is scoring runs for England."

Of his removal as captain he reflected: "I'm not angry. I'm just hurt, disappointed and upset that a childhood dream has been taken away from me."

Pietersen said he was about to head back from holiday to discuss future strategy with ECB chiefs David Collier and Hugh Morris when he received a call telling him he was losing the captaincy.

Following several earlier meetings with Morris and Collier he revealed he then sent an email in which "I said that I can't lead this team forward and take it to the West Indies if Peter Moores is coach."

Pietersen said he was stunned when Morris called to tell him his fate.

"He said they had had an emergency board meeting and they had accepted my resignation.

"I said: Excuse me?!' They said: We've accepted your resignation.' I said on what basis has it been accepted? They had no answer. Next, I received an email from the ECB saying: Your resignation is of immediate effect'."

Pietersen, who is adamant he will give his full support to new captain Andrew Strauss, stressed he is on good terms with Flintoff, himself a former England captain.

"My relationship with Freddie was great and towards the end I sat down with him and I said 'Mate, this is what is going on.'

"We had a good chat and Freddie's parting words were, 'You cannot leave as England captain'."

But Pietersen says he has no regrets at making clear his opposition to Moores.

"I risked it all because I thought it was my duty to say things were not right. I risked it all because it was my duty as England captain to say this was how we should move forward," he said.

"What hurts me was the character assassination that has been totally unfounded. And that is the reason why I want to get my story across so that people can understand that I have done absolutely nothing wrong."

ECB vice-chairman Dennis Amiss told BBC radio that once it became known that Pietersen and Moores were at loggerheads the situation "was always going to be impossible to resolve amicably."

"Obviously, the relationship broke down," added Amiss, who stressed the ECB did not believe Pietersen leaked the information of his troubled relationship with Moores but believed that in the circumstances "difficult decisions had to be made."

That meant jettisoning both Pietersen, who, for Amiss, "has his ideas how he wanted to run things," and Moores.

Amiss insisted the ECB had acted in the team's interests in dropping both men.

"We wanted a completely unified team ... one working together for the future of cricket."

But Amiss also said he believed Pietersen would stand by his promise to stay with the team as they head off on January 21 for their tour of the West Indies.

"Kevin is very much part of the future - time can be a great healer."

Durham seamer Steve Harmison meanwhile denied helping to engineer Pietersen's departure as skipper amid reports he was one of several players in the dressing room who preferred Flintoff as captain.

"I can say without a moment's hesitation that both Fred Flintoff and I supported Kevin as our captain and our leader, (Andrew) Strauss has already made his backing for Kevin quite clear and any suggestion that we turned against him when Hugh Morris rang us for our views over the crisis is rubbish."

LONDON (Reuters) - Former England captain Kevin Pietersen put the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in an "impossible situation" after his public criticism of coach Peter Moores, according to chairman Giles Clarke.
Pietersen stepped down as captain last Wednesday following his newspaper comments that he could not work with Moores.

Kevin Pietersen first threatened to resign as England captain in India before Christmas, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) vice-chairman Dennis Amiss has said.
The South African-born batsman quit last week after just three Tests in charge, claiming he couldn't work alongside coach Peter Moores who was sacked as a result of the row.

Former Australian Test batsman Darren Lehmann says he would be interested in joining the race to coach Ashes rivals England, reports said Sunday.
Widely regarded as one of world cricket's shrewdest brains, Lehmann, 38, said he would consider any offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - Graham Ford is interested in the England job following the midweek sacking of Peter Moores, the Kent coach said on Saturday.
However, the former South Africa supremo told Reuters he would only accept the position if he was certain the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had canvassed the opinions of the players.

Andrew Strauss will captain England for their entire tour of the West Indies, including one-day internationals and the lone Twenty20, it was announced here Friday.
Strauss, who hasn't played a one-day international since the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, was confirmed Thursday by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as England's new Test captain.